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Peak Energy Ships America's First Grid-Scale Sodium-Ion Battery (electrek.co) 105

Posted by BeauHD from the first-of-many dept.
Longtime Slashdot reader AmiMoJo shares a report from Electrek: Peak Energy shipped out its first sodium-ion battery energy storage system, and the New York-based company says it's achieved a first in three ways: the US's first grid-scale sodium-ion battery storage system; the largest sodium-ion phosphate pyrophosphate (NFPP) battery system in the world; and the first megawatt-hour scale battery to run entirely on passive cooling -- no fans, pumps, or vents. That's significant because removing moving parts and ditching active cooling systems eliminates fire risk.

According to the Electric Power Research Institute, 89% of battery fires in the US trace back to thermal management issues. Peak's design doesn't have those issues because it doesn't have those systems. Instead, the 3.5 MWh system uses a patent-pending passive cooling architecture that's simpler, more reliable, and cheaper to run and maintain. The company says its technology slashes auxiliary power needs by up to 90%, saves about $1 million annually per gigawatt hour of storage, and cuts battery degradation by 33% over a 20-year lifespan. [...]

Peak is working with nine utility and independent power producer (IPP) customers on a shared pilot this summer. That deployment unlocks nearly 1 GWh of future commercial contracts now under negotiation. The company plans to ship hundreds of megawatt hours of its new system over the next two years, and it's building its first US cell factory, which is set to start production in 2026.

Peak Energy Ships America's First Grid-Scale Sodium-Ion Battery More | Reply

Peak Energy Ships America's First Grid-Scale Sodium-Ion Battery

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  • Home-sized options? (Score:3)

    by DrMrLordX ( 559371 ) on Friday August 01, 2025 @11:41PM (#65561790)

    It would be nice for homeowners to have batteries like these (albeit on a smaller scale) to cope with power outages and prevent brownout even when still reliant on grid power.

    • I get the impression these kinds of batteries don't scale down well, making them impractical for backup power on a single family home. I can expect this to be useful for backup power to multiple family housing, neighborhoods, and so forth. Maybe we can have batteries like these at most every substation for backup power, phase and power factor correction, and other grid stability services. But then perhaps keeping so many things synchronized could pose new problems.

      I've seen Tesla and other companies get

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Khyber ( 864651 )

        "I get the impression these kinds of batteries don't scale down well"

        Go look at the picture in TFA and note that it is literally 8 individual packs tall and 4 packs wide in a box.

        1/8 of this thing could sit in your garage and power your house for a few days flat.

      • Re:Home-sized options? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Saturday August 02, 2025 @12:30AM (#65561852)

        I get the impression these kinds of batteries don't scale down well

        Why? Sodium-ion batteries come in 18650 cells just like lithium-ion batteries but they don't match the capacity. However, the difference isn't so significant that you can't simply have a larger version of a Tesla Powerwall that has the same capacity.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          You would want pouch cells though. 18650 is just not very space efficient, and only really needed in some very specific applications. That's why most home batteries and most EVs are using pouch cells now.

    • Who said you can't? Tesla Powerwall [tesla.com] is a battery system that you can buy.

      • That's with lithium, not sodium.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        There are much better options that Tesla Powerwall though. Better capacity, lower price, better reliability.

        Such small batteries don't usually need any active cooling either. There isn't much benefit moving to Sodium-Ion, LiFePo cells are cheaper and pretty much ideal for home use.

        • Sodium-Ion should be cheaper and have a longer lifespan.

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            Eventually, not today. Maybe not ever, it depends if the economies of scale are enough. A lot of tech has failed to catch on simply because lithium batteries got so cheap so fast.

            • True but sodium is a more attractive solution because sodium is far more abundant than lithium. The drawback to sodium ion is that it is not as energy dense as lithium so bigger batteries will be needed to have the same capacity which reduces their usage. Sodium-ion may never be used in portable devices because of this. A benefit of less energy density is less risk of fire. Sodium-ion is denser than lead acid so installation in buildings is a more viable solution.

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

                Yeah. I think the most likely outcome is that we see sodium used for some applications where a business looks at the cost over the long term, maintenance, that kind of thing. For home batteries people will be buying mostly B grade or used cells. B grade are already cheap and completely fine for that application, and reuse of used cells is ramping up.

                • Why would someone use different batteries for a home than they would at a business? Homes burn power 24/7, just on a smaller scale. And homeowners in areas that are prone to blackouts/brownouts want uptime just as badly as any business. Plus homeowners that agree to use such batteries can work with utilities to charge during low utilization periods (ala PowerWall) to help with load balancing. Sodium-Ion is more appropriate for routine charge/discharge cycles over the longterm.

                  • Re: (Score:2)

                    by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

                    Because home owners are more sensitive to up front costs. You can see it with lightbulbs. When LEDs first appeared and were expensive, consumers baulked at the idea of a 30 year bulb that cost 5x as much, but businesses could see the long term cost saving from the lower power consumption and reduced maintenance.

                    • I'd agree that cost is an issue for many home owners, but since Na+1 batteries are already cheaper they're going to be more desired. Na+1 batteries also can do more cycles than LFP, and they have a greater temperature operating range. That they're a little bigger is really the only negative I can think of. That being said, for every *house* I've ever lived in, I believe each one had the space somewhere for a battery so the larger size really isn't an issue. A couple of the houses may have needed for the bat

                  • Why would someone use different batteries for a home than they would at a business?

                    1. Cost: Generally home owners are buying something for less that a business could afford. 2. Space: Most home owners have limited space for installation of a battery bank where businesses may have space allocated for utilities. As a homeowner, lithium ion are a better fit for smaller spaces so they are more energy dense. 3. Regulations: Homeowners and businesses may have different regulations on what/how they can install battery banks. With homes generally install much smaller banks, they probably have mor

                    • Why would someone use different batteries for a home than they would at a business?

                      1. Cost: Generally home owners are buying something for less that a business could afford.

                      Since Na+1 batteries are already cheaper than LFP batteries, cost isn't a problem here.

                      2. Space: Most home owners have limited space for installation of a battery bank where businesses may have space allocated for utilities. As a homeowner, lithium ion are a better fit for smaller spaces so they are more energy dense.

                      For every *house* I've ever lived in, there has always been space for something like this. Think about the HVAC unit outside, we have room for that and a Na+1 battery isn't any bigger than that. Yes, you can install these batteries outside, but I'd think an awning over them would be a good idea (perhaps even required). Their larger operating range means they can live outside for most of the US.

                    • For every *house* I've ever lived in, there has always been space for something like this.

                      Perhaps maybe not everyone has space. Remember I said "home" not "house" as not everyone lives in a house. Even people who live in houses may not have the space. For example, apartments, condoes, townhomes, etc .Did you think about that?

                      Yes, you can install these batteries outside, but I'd think an awning over them would be a good idea (perhaps even required)

                      You can put these outside. Just like I could put my bedroom outside. Technically possible but a stupid idea.

            • You need to go price some of this out then and you'll be surprised. I did that few days ago when I read this article elsewhere. The 13.5KW of LFP *batteries only* for a Tesla Powerwall is ~$10K. The same 13.5KW of Na+1 (sodium ion) is ~$6K. Yeah, you need controllers, enclosures, etc for a complete system, but the batteries alone are already show a good savings ... and that savings will only go up as manufacturing scales up. So yes, Na+1 is cheaper today.

          • Also disposing a sodium ion battery should have fewer environmental drawbacks than disposing lithium.
    • Look up a Texan company called Base Power, they are doing that albeit with LFP batteries

      • Yeah, I'm aware of such products. Sodium-Ion promises to make storage batteries cheaper and more-reliable.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by HiThere ( 15173 )

      What's the storage *density*? I have the impression that grid scale batteries often use (relatively) low density storage, so they take up a lot of space. Lithium batteries are relatively high density (lots of storage/volume). Dense storage is, of course, part of what makes them so dangerous when they catch fire.

      Perhaps it you wanted this to last through a blackout you'd need to give up your basement, rather than just part of it as with lithium batteries.

  • Eliminates fire risk? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by butlerm ( 3112 ) on Saturday August 02, 2025 @06:27AM (#65562120)

    Any engineer who says "eliminates fire risk" about something like a grid scale battery is either incompetent or lying. If they were honest they would say something like "greatly reduces fire risk" instead. Everything burns and high power, ionized fluid and reactive metal containing components and conductors burn more readily than average, especially when heat and current are flowing through them. Try getting a copper wire not to burn at high temperatures with lots of current flowing through it outside of a vacuum sometime. Superconductors would not eliminate the fire risk in the battery cells or flow zones either - not even close - probably not even in a vacuum.

    • not sure they still do it, but HS chem in the 70's would always take some sodium stored in oil and drop a tiny bit into water. Reactive is an understatement. I imagine lithium would make even better fireworks.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        not sure they still do it, but HS chem in the 70's would always take some sodium stored in oil and drop a tiny bit into water. Reactive is an understatement. I imagine lithium would make even better fireworks.

        Sodium ion batteries don't use sodium the same way lithium ion batteries use lithium.

        And experience should tell you sodium ions are rather boring. After all, they're one of the fundamental ions used in cellular signalling, as well as in most of the water on this planet. And you often sprinkle sodium io

  • So 3.5 million watt hours? If it was lithium, it'd be about 269,230 individual 18650 batteries which would weigh 12,000 Kg. That'd be only 518x518 if stacked in one row, in a traditional battery pack grid arrangement. That would take 9.5 x 9.5 meters of space. You'd never build it that way but I wanted to illustrate the energy density.
    And you wouldn't use loose 18650's, you'd use pouch cells inside brick chassis, but that's actually even more energy dense. So this is probably somewhat cheap and the lack of
  • Just a small technical point. Megawatt-hours are a measure of usage,not energy. Power systems (no matter what the source) provide megawatts,not megawatt-hours.
  • Passive cooling without fans or pumps..would imply that the battery has a very large surface area. I'd like to see a picture of such a battery.

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